Club history on the line as final football draws near

Next week is a huge one for Football Margaret River in both junior and senior divisions.

The Juniors have their last game of the season, apart from Rockets and Wyverns who are in the Cup finals.

In a potentially historic event, both FMR Men’s and Women’s Premier teams have the opportunity to secure their first-ever league victories on Sunday September 10.

Junior teams will have a chance to join in the excitement as mascots for our senior teams, and it will be a massive day.

The canteen will be open and games start at 9am with the Mermaid Reserves, followed by the Mermaids Premiers at 11am.

The Men’s reserves kick off at 1pm with the Men’s Premiers team hitting the pitch last at 3pm.

This monumental achievement could reshape the club’s history, and we invite the community to come down and join in.

JUNIOR ROUNDUP

This Saturday was the last home game for the U6 Ninjas and boy did they come to play. Ninjas put on a stellar display of all the skills they have learnt from coaches Britt and Matt. It all came together on game day with slick skills and goal scoring all round. The team had been working on their triangle passing and practice paid off in spades. PODs courtesy of LJ Soccer and Burger Baby went to Cohen and Ezra.

The U8 Strikers match against Dunsborough Thunder started with some free-flowing end-to-end play, with neither side able to capitalise in front of goal before the Thunder finally managed to find the back of the net. Strikers were under pressure but managed to absorb it well. Jarla made some great saves in goal under relentless attacking and eventually they broke through for their second goal of the half. Anouk and Genevieve made a fast-attacking run through the middle and found support from Jake for the Strikers first shot on goal. Strikers looked the stronger team and Johnny, with support from Arlo G, was unlucky not to score. Jarla was back for the second half and provided an energy boost for the team. Arlo D was a safe pair of hands in goal and Jarla just missed a great cross from Miles. Josh and Johnny defended well, linking up nicely with Jake in the middle. PODs went to Josh and Johnny with thanks to Two Cracks Coffee.

A cracking high intensity game by U8 Wasps, with majority possession throughout the game, speed and pace! Just pipped at the post by Cornerstone in the second half despite the efforts of our PODs, Archie and Leo. Big thanks to Two Cracks Coffee,

This weekend saw the U8 Dragons play the MUSC Jets. Dragons were playing like a well oiled machine, lots of skilful runs down the line, accurate passing, an ever solid defence and several opportunities for goals. Unfortunately for the Jets, the Dragons controlled most of this game. Coach Jimmy selected three PODs: Jack, Jake and Timmy. Thank you to Burger Baby and LJ Soccer.

POD Billy received the LJ Soccer voucher for a very busy game in defence and attack for the U9 Storm. In a game that went end for end in a great competitive matching, the Giants came out on top.

The U10 Breakers final game against the MUSC Panthers was a cracker. Felix was on fire in goals and kept the Panthers score to a minimum. PODs went to Felix, Drake, Isla and Fynn. Thanks to Squid Lips, The River, Two Cracks Coffee and The Candy Cow for supporting us this season.

It was cold and wet for the final home game for U11 Stingrays against Capel Wolves. but the full squad was back. Stingrays went ahead through a goal from Taj McCrickard and an inspired substitution had Fraser Massie put the Stingrays 2-0, just before Capel pulled one back before half time. Second half saw Cayden Del Barrio land a goal. Consistent pressure from Stingrays and a brace from Bobby Atkins in the second half made for another win for the Stingrays. POD went to Cayden for a commanding performance.

Second last game of the season and the U12 Rockets once again faced the Cornerstone Chiefs. A foul inside the box saw the Chiefs land a penalty for their first goal. Rockets pushed hard but Chiefs’ defence was solid. But Hayden Reid’s fantastic kick have Rockets a score. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to turn the game around. Congratulations to Two Cracks Coffee POD Kalani Nesbit.

The U12 Warriors met GMAS Stingrays at home, with both teams showing how much they have grown and developed over the season. Warriors came out strong and confident and had a lot of fun on the pitch. There was some great passing, moving into space to support the player with the ball and setting each other up for shots on goal with Declan finding the back of the net in the first half and Sophia in the second half. PODs were Savana and Anouk.

The stakes were high for the third and final derby of the season between U14 Glory and U14 Wyverns. With school bragging rights on the line Wyverns came in hungry to finally claim a victory. Despite having no subs and their star goalie off with injury they rallied, landing first goal early in the game. It’s always a pretty intense and physical game when these two teams meet, and this week was no exception. Glory had a chance from a corner, but couldn’t convert. Oliver L came off with an injury a few minutes before half time, but when the whistle blew, Wyverns were up 1-0. The second half saw Wyverns score again. Poom had another shot from a distance, that sailed over the Glory defenders and went in. But the tables were about to turn with Mark slipping a penalty shot into the back of the net. Not long after, Stirling came off injured after a tackle, leaving Wyverns with 9 players. Jarrah pulled up Stirling’s socks and got in goals, and for someone who could barely walk, did an amazing job. Some welcome comic relief cut the tension when a Wyverns player shot clear over the goals, landing the ball with precision in a wheelie bin behind the net. This elicited a crowd response of World cup proportions. With 10 seconds remaining, a perfectly placed corner shot from Archie saw Yas taking the final goal of the match resulting in a 2-2 tie. Glory PODs were Archie and Yas, thanks to Squid Lips. Wyverns were doing all they could to shut Glory down. William was working hard to keep Archie at bay, Jack was running down the ball and everyone was taking the Glory on and not getting shoved off the ball. The last few minutes felt like hours and I thought we had got over the line this time, but with seconds to go, a corner was called giving Glory a goal to even the score at 2-2. Wyverns PODs went to Matty and Poom.

Premiership win in view for Marroners

Before I begin this week’s match report, on behalf of everyone at Football Margaret River I would just like to thank Caspian for his great season representing the Marroners.

You are firmly entrenched as an amazing team member and we all wish you the best of luck in Germany.

The Margaret River Marroners hosted the Capel Wolves on Saturday in what proved to be an entertaining and relaxed affair, after the pressures of The Cup semi final last weekend.

It was good to see the Margaret River players get back to the basics and control possession, whilst creating many chances in the first half.

This resulted in both Lucus and Ryder scoring a couple of goals apiece, but Capel was very unlucky to not score a goal of their own and only a scrambling save from Henry denied The Wolves.

The second half saw the Marroners score another three goals to Capel’s one, but it was wonderful to see how far C
apel has come as a club this season, with many first year players beginning to find their feet as the season progressed.

With their positive coaching staff and vastly improved players I believe they will continue to improve rapidly in the coming years.

Special mention this week to Lucus and Taj who both starred today for Margaret River and put in 110 percent every game.

Your skills and attitude truly encompasses what Margaret River is aiming to achieve as a club.

Next week the Marroners host the Spicy Chickens in a top of the table clash, with the winner taking the premiership for the year

With the loss last week and being knocked out of the Cup final, this is effectively our Grand Final and it would be great to see plenty of supporters turn out on the day and help get this awesome group of teenagers over the line.

If you play your own game Marroners and control what you can control, the premiership is yours for the taking. Let last week’s loss fuel next week’s victory. Go you mighty Marroners!